“It is what it is.”

I must hear that saying a dozen times a day. I’ve even heard myself utter it. At first, it made sense to me. After all, things are what they are. Life can be straightforward. But is every situation as it seems? Must we continually roll-over and take it? Surely, we have power over our own circumstances.

This ever-popular expression has several meanings and uses. Yes, it can refer to resigned acceptance of a situation, and that’s OK. Some situations require acceptance to move to the next space. It can also serve as a placeholder when there isn’t an adequate response to a question, essentially moving a conversation forward. And finally, these five little words can simply acknowledge the reality of one’s current circumstance.

Not surprisingly, English isn’t the only language that produces catchy little phrases that resonate with people. I’m certain most of us have heard someone exclaim “que sera, sera,” which translates to “what will be, will be.” When Doris Day sang the song based on that phrase in Alfred Hitchcock’s film, “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” many critics deemed it cheerful fatalism.

Expressions like these can become so overused that their meaning becomes muddled. A few months ago, I waged (a very small-scope) battle on the laziness of humans and their inability to speak in a genuine tongue. When did we stop expressing real, thoughtful words and sentences? Why are so many replacing true sentiment with bumper sticker slogans?

If adopted as a way of life, gobbledygook sayings like “it is what it is” could severely limit our potential by not challenging our circumstances. Focusing on this helpless view is likely what ignited my indignation.

A pragmatist from birth, I’m all for accepting reality. But at the same time, I am a complete believer in the power within everyone to impact their own situation. We aren’t meant to be the little balls in a pinball machine, helplessly being paddled and ricocheted around a game box full of bumpers.

Even Lake Superior State University’s Unicorn Club chose to banish this cliche from the English language. Since the mid-1970s, Lake Superior State University has been publishing an annual list of tongue-in-cheek banished words as a safeguard against misuse, overuse, and basic uselessness of the English language. Truth be told, it was largely an incredibly creative publicity stunt. But national and international interest in this list was so enthusiastic that the annual word list is still being published to this day, with thousands of bothersome word entries submitted to the university every year.

Yet, the more I lean into the saying, “it is what it is,” the more I believe it absolutely isn’t what it is; unless it is, of course. So, I regrouped, gave people the benefit of the doubt, and told myself that some situations really have no clear outcome. In the end, some situations scream to be blanketed by a simplistic figure of speech.

If wine spills on the carpet, it is what it is, clean it up. Don’t make it a bigger matter than it is. Gum in your hair? Bummer, deal with it. Not every situation needs to be analyzed, picked apart or made into a family discussion. Sometimes a situation is straightforward and plain.

Furthermore, “it is what it is” can signify hope and acceptance of ambiguity and complexity. In other words, we don’t have to understand the whole of a thing, we can simply accept it and move forward. The world is full of possibilities.

Our lives and this world are far too complex to sum up into a five little words. It’s either bigger and better and broader than you think, or it’s more detailed, more complex, and has many more undertones than you can imagine. Don’t allow those little words to be suffocating, resigning, or limiting in any fashion. See them as a springboard into another chapter. It all hinges on the speaker, the usage, and how it is heard in the moment. In the end, context is everything.

Lesslee Dort is a board-certified patient advocate who firmly believes knowledge is power when it comes to being in control of one’s health. She spends her days helping others navigate their health care and her free time exploring. Reach Lesslee via email at lesslee@friendstogethermi.org. Read her here the third Thursday of each month.